1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns an apparatus for conveying objects transversely to their direction of initial transport. The device essentially includes two conveying elements which each have a transport region and a return region and which can be driven independently of each other by way of a drive. These elements are located opposite each other and form a dividing gap with an imaginary center axis. In each case, a set of deflecting rollers for guiding, tensioning and equalizing the conveying elements is utilized. A sliding element for changing the transport region or return region is provided. The sliding element connects the conveying elements to each other. An equalizing element is used for compensating for the change in the return region or transport region. The invention also provides for a method of conveying objects using the apparatus.
2. Discussion of Background Information
Known apparatuses of this kind are used e.g., in the paper-making industry for the transport of stacked pages, sheets or the like. These are made of cardboard, paper, plastic or other stackable materials. The transport is from a collecting station, mounted behind a production machine, and to packing machines or the like.
Within a usually multiple-up or multiple yield production machine, so-called reams of paper in the form of layers of sheets or stacks of sheets are formed continuously by longitudinal and/or transverse cutting of webs of material, e.g., webs of paper. Several reams of paper located closely adjacent to each other form a row of reams, which is hereinafter also referred to as a stream of reams. This stream of reams is deposited in a collecting station. By suitable means, appropriately a gripper system, the stream of reams is pulled onto or deposited on an apparatus for conveying the reams transversely to their direction of initial transport. A stream of reams consists of at least two reams, but can be extended to a multiple thereof. Each stream of reams is however as a rule further processed, namely, preferably packed. The individual apparatuses, e.g., the production machine and the packing machine, are therefore adapted to each other with their respective production capacities. For example, a 14-up production machine usually produces more reams than a single packing machine can accept. In order to increase the productivity of such product lines, i.e., to adapt acceptance to production, packing machines are preferably arranged on both sides of the production machine or collecting station. As a rule, both packing machines are supplied with reams uniformly. By way of example, this means that a stream of ten reams, that is, e.g., stacks of 500 sheets of paper of DIN A4 format composed of ten yields, is divided uniformly, so that the apparatus for conveying the reams transversely to their direction of initial transport carries away five reams each on both sides. For this purpose, the apparatus is divided in the region of a dividing gap, so that conveying of a number of reams to either side is ensured. This dividing gap is slidable to allow unequal delivery to the packing machines arranged on both sides, e.g., in the event that one of the packing machines stops due to a defect or because the packing machines are to be loaded differently. For sliding the dividing gap, the sliding element is slid in one or the other direction. As a result, there is a lengthening of the supporting surface or, to be more precise, of the transport region, of one conveying element, while at the same time the transport region of the other conveying element is shortened by the same amount. For this, equalizing rollers are also arranged on the sliding element. Both a lengthening of the transport region of one conveying element and the shortening of the transport region of the other conveying element are compensated by suitable adaptation of the return regions of the conveying elements.
A drawback of the known apparatus, however, is that, due to the dimension of the sliding element which is used to receive guiding or tensioning rollers, on the one hand, and equalizing rollers, on the other hand, only a short path of displacement can be produced. With a standard yield width of e.g., DIN A4, only one displacement by one copy width out of the center position is possible. In other words, the known apparatus ensures a division of 6:4, 5:5 and 4:6. The division of the stream of reams is therefore very limited. Furthermore, it is of course also possible for both conveying elements to be driven in the same direction, so that a division of 10:0 or 0:10 is possible. However, as the capacity of the packing machines is limited, and so the production machines produces more reams than can be accepted by a packing machine, the throughput of the production machine must inevitably be throttled, which in turn leads to production losses.